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I am Kay Hurst and am running for Division 1 Magistrate. I am a lifelong resident of Upshur County along with my husband, Ron. We have two sons, Ben and Matt, a magnificent daughter-in-law, Stephanie, and five wonderful grandchildren; Brady, Liam, Elizabeth, Emma and Olivia. We have been very blessed with our lives and working careers here in Upshur County.
I have spent my entire working career in the legal field beginning as a part-time secretary with the Prosecuting Attorney’s Office in 1982. From there I moved into full-time positions as a Legal Assistant/Paralegal for private law offices up until the time I was hired as a Magistrate Assistant in 2007. During my years as a Legal Assistant/Paralegal, I assisted in criminal and civil trials; performed legal research; prepared legal pleadings and correspondence; interviewed clients and managed all other aspects of a legal office.
After working a year and a half (1 ½) as a Magistrate Assistant, I went back to work in a private law office setting for several years. I was elected as Magistrate and began on January 1, 2016, dedicating my life to that position twenty-four (24) hours a day. My impartiality, integrity, knowledge, experience, work and professional ethics are only a few of my qualifications.
When I began as Magistrate, all a Magistrate could do in the UJA system (statewide Magistrate Court computer program) was get a case number. A year or so later, the Supreme Court granted the option to learn the system with our assistants to do the training. My assistant and I spent many after work hours with her teaching me the system. By learning the UJA system, I was able to alleviate a great amount of the workload required of the assistants by initiating cases, scanning and docketing pleadings, and preparing orders in civil and criminal cases, thereby providing the assistants additional time to perform their daily duties.
The first civil trial I held as Magistrate was appealed to the Circuit Court. The Circuit Court upheld my ruling, and at that point, the case was appealed to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court upheld the ruling as well. This is just one example where my experience and understanding of the law is proven.
The responsibilities and duties of a Magistrate are dictated by the West Virginia Code and the West Virginia Supreme Court. You are putting yourself in a position of being available at all times and putting this job before everything else in your life. When you run for this office, you must be dedicated and perform those duties completely and with integrity, impartiality, ethics and truthfulness.
With early voting beginning on May 1, 2024, and with election day being May 14, 2024, I ask for your support and vote to bring back that Magistrate with 34 years experience in the legal field, one and a half years (1 ½) years as Magistrate Assistant and four (4) years as your Magistrate. Remember, true experience matters. I thank you for your consideration.
